One More Time
by The Blue Raven
Summary: When Trance gets sick, her daughter Zelazny from the future shows up to help bring about Trance's 'perfect possible future'. All 6 parts now up...
1. Things Fall Apart

**One More Time...**

Summary: When Trance gets sick, her daughter shows up to help bring about Trance's 'perfect possible future'.

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own them (except Zelazny). I just enjoy getting inside of their heads from time to time.

Note: Zelazny, Trance's daughter, first shows up in my Andromeda fanfic titled "Zelazny".

Feedback: Yes, please. Feed me, feed me!!! (The more you feed back, the more I'm likely to write...)

**Chapter 1 -- Things Fall Apart**

Harper looked up as Dylan entered the medical-bay. "Hey, Dylan. No change." He sighed and glanced down at Trance, shaking his head. "The only way I can tell that she's still alive is that every few hours she tries to get up and start raving like a Flash-fried..." Harper trailed off, shaking his head. "What are we going to do, Dylan?"

Dylan shrugged apologetically. "I don't know, Harper. I really have no idea. None of us know enough about Trance to even _guess_ at what's wrong with her, let alone how to fix it."

"So, we do nothing?" Harper asked, frowning.

"No, not at all. Rommie's searching her data-bases and we're talking to everyone we know who might have any idea..."

"Nothing..." Harper repeated quietly. "She's so pale, Dylan."

"Get some sleep, Harper."

"No, no, no." He shook his head. "Someone needs to stay with her." They had found her, two days ago, walking on a guardrail in the engine-core as if it had been a balance beam, seemingly unaware of what she had been doing. Harper had not left her side since.

"I know. I'll do it. You get some sleep. That's an order."

Harper nodded. "Okay, fine." Sighing, he glanced down at Trance. "I'm going to figure out what's wrong with you, Trance, and I _am_ going to fix it. I promise."

She slowly opened her eyes. "You died, I remember..." she said softly.

Harper frowned and shook his head. "No, Trance, you saved me..."

"Oh." She closed her eyes again, but opened them again quickly. "If you say so. I... I didn't remember." She sat up. "What's wrong with me?"

"We don't know yet..." Harper told her. "Lay back down, Trance. You're weak."

"I don't feel weak..." Trance protested, frowning uncertainly. "I want to take a walk."

"I don't think so." Dylan put his hand on her arm.

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Dylan. I'll do better next time, I promise. Can I take a walk?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, Trance. You're too sick to leave the med-bay."

"Am I sick?" Trance frowned and shook her head. "I can't be. I never get sick."

Dylan shrugged. "Well, you have."

"You're wrong. Let me go." She slid out of the bed and started for the door. "It's hot in here. I want to go outside!" 

"Trance!" Dylan grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards the bed. With Harper's help, he forced her to sit on it. "Define 'outside', Trance."

"Outside where it's not hot. Outside where I can get nice and cool _really_ fast."

"You mean outside the ship?" Dylan asked.

"Uh-huh." Trance nodded cheerfully, swinging her legs. "Do you like poetry, Dylan?"

"Poetry?" Dylan asked.

"Oh, God, not again!" Harper snapped, covering his ears and walking into another room.

"Things fall apart," Trance recited, her voice taking on the intonation of a schoolgirl repeating a lesson, "the center cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere..." Trance paused, giving Dylan an unsettling smile. "And _everywhere_... the ceremony of innocence is drowned." She jumped to her feet and darted past Dylan, into the corridor.

"_Trance_!" Dylan shouted, running after her.

"I have her, Dylan..." Tyr announced, carrying Trance back towards the med-bay. "It's really just as well that she has trouble staying conscious for long periods." He helped Dylan and Harper put her back to bed. "At this point, perhaps it would be wise to consider restraint."

Dylan stared at Tyr, then nodded. "You could have something, Tyr. Harper, go get some sleep."

Harper gave Trance one last glance and fled the med-bay.

Tyr frowned after him. "How long has it been since he has slept?"

"Not since he found Trance."

Tyr nodded, frowning. "Do we know what is wrong with her yet?"

Dylan shook his head. "Not a clue, Tyr."

"This can not go on indefinitely."

"I'm aware of that, Tyr, but I'm not about to give up on her."

"I am not suggesting any such thing. Trance is a useful member of this crew. Her loss would be... regrettable." Tyr stared down at her. "We must seek out other members of her species. _They_ may know how to treat her."

"Yeah, good luck finding any. I know I've never seen another one like Trance. Have you?"

Tyr scowled. "No... I have not."

"Okay. We'll... ask around, then."

Tyr nodded. "I will stay with her."

"Are you sure?"

Tyr nodded and held up a book. "It will give me time to get some reading done."

"Nietzsche." Dylan shrugged. "Call when you need someone to take over for you."

Tyr scoffed. "I imagine that Harper will wish to resume his post by then."

***

Harper had not been able to sleep, so he had sat on his bunk staring into the darkness, thinking. _Zelazny. We need Zelazny. But how do we _find_ her?_ Harper sighed and rested his head on his pillow. He closed his eyes and heard Rommie's voice. 

"Harper?"

"Yeah, Rommie?" he asked, sitting up quickly. "Is it Trance? Is something wrong?"

"Her condition is unchanged. However, you are required on the bridge."

Harper frowned, but shrugged and started for the bridge. "Hey, guys, what's up?" he asked.

Tyr turned to face him. "This... creature claims to know you."

A cute purple face peered around Tyr's massive frame and waved at Harper. "Hello again, Harper."

"_Zelazny_?" Harper asked, frowning.

"Did you just call her... Zelazny?" Rommie asked.

 Zelazny shrugged. "It's my name. Can I see my mom now?"

"Trance is your _mother_?" Dylan asked.

"I see the resemblance..." Tyr observed quietly, walking around Zelazny and looking her over. "She has her mother's... _tail_."

Zelazny folded her arms over her chest. "Very clever, Ubber. Did you come up with that all by yourself?" she asked, smiling sardonically.

Tyr growled and turned his attention to Harper. "You do, in fact, know this creature?"

Doing his best not to look as amused as he felt, Harper nodded. "Yeah, we met a few months ago on Telcroft Drift."

"And she is, as she claims, Trance's daughter?" Rommie asked.

Harper nodded. "According to Trance, yeah."

Zelazny folded her hands behind her back. "Shall I explain, Harper, or would you rather?"

"You do it. Temporal mechanics give me a headache."

"Better than a tummy-ache." Zelazny smiled at him and turned to face Dylan. "It's really quite simple, sir. Trance gave birth to me at some point in your future. In order to preserve my own existence, I came into the past at the same time as she traded places with her younger self. Otherwise, I would have simply ceased to be."

"So... why haven't you shown up before?" Beka asked, frowning.

"Simply to avoid causing her undue embarrassment and distress. I think I like you better with red hair, Aunt Beka." She smiled apologetically.

"What do you mean when you say 'undue embarrassment and distress'?" Dylan asked her.

"There would have been many questions, sir. I assumed that you would have a hard enough time accepting the new her without throwing me into the mix. Was I wrong?"

"Not really." Harper shrugged. "We all gave her a pretty hard time at first."

"May I see her now, sir?"

"Can you make her better?" Dylan asked.

"Without any idea of what's wrong with her, I can't say. I certainly hope I can. It _was_ my intent in coming, sir."

"How did you know she was sick in the first place."

"She's my mother, sir. I just know."

"The med-bay is..."

"This way, I know." Zelazny walked unerringly to the med-bay and walked right up to Trance. "Mom..." she whispered, taking her hand. "Can you hear me?"

Trance looked up at her, frowning in confusion. "You aren't here yet..."

Zelazny stared at her thoughtfully. "I am now. I came back through a temporal singularity."

"Oh..." Trance nodded and sat up. "Can I take a walk? They won't let me leave. It's no fair!"

"It's necessary, mom. You're sick."

Trance frowned. "I am?"

Zelazny nodded gently. "Yes. Now lie back down, okay. That's a good girl."

"What's wrong with her?" Harper asked.

Zelazny looked up slowly, not letting go of Trance's hand. "She's suffering a pretty significant level of temporal confusion. I think she thinks it's still the first time."

"The... _first_ time?" Beka asked, frowning.

Zelazny nodded. "Yes, Aunt Beka. The first time. The time that she came back to prevent."

"At least that explains why she keeps insisting that I'm dead..." Harper muttered.

"Can I have a look at your scans of her?"

"We don't have any..." Dylan told her. "We've never been able to scan her."

"You're doing it wrong, then, sir. Run a scan now."

"It won't work."

"_Please_, sir..." Zelazny stared anxiously at him.

Dylan nodded. "Rommie, do it."

"Very well." Rommie quickly ran the scan and put the results on the med-bay's screen. "See?"

"Yes, I do. That's not normal at all."

"How can you tell? It doesn't read _anything_. Like always."

Zelazny tilted her head at Rommie. "_Not_ like always. Yes, she's deflecting the scans, and yes, she always does, but, look, the refraction is different."

"Huh?" Beka asked.

"She's right." Rommie frowned. "Her body is deflecting the scanner in a different way than it normally does."

"What does it mean?" Tyr asked.

Zelazny stared thoughtfully at the screen. "By itself, that she's sick. It's the _way_ that she's deflecting the scan that's of interest."

"How do you know all this?" Beka asked.

Without taking her attention from the screen, Zelazny explained, "I was born with all of the memories of my parents up to the instant of my conception. Mom knew it, so I know it."

Beka shrugged. "Interesting..."

"Useful..." Tyr muttered, smiling approvingly.

"Yeah. Well, it looks environmental."

"I beg your pardon?" Dylan asked, frowning.

Zelazny sighed. "She's being poisoned by something on the ship."

"Are you sure?" Rommie asked.

Zelazny nodded. "It's ninety-eight point nine-three percent certain."

Dylan nodded. "What are we looking for? Something in the air? The food? Water?"

"I would start with ambient radiation levels personally, sir." She shrugged. "But... that's just me."

"You heard the woman, Rommie."

"I'll... begin scanning, sir."

Dylan nodded. "Good. Um... Zelazny, how do we fix this?"

"Decontamination should begin reversing the illness, sir. Ultimately, though, the offending radiation source will have to be removed."

Dylan nodded. "Okay. That's... promising. I... want you to come with me and Rommie now."

"Why, sir?"

"We have some questions for you."

"Dylan..." Harper protested.

"It's okay, Harper." Zelazny smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm going to go with Dylan now, and we'll talk again later. Take care of my mom."

Harper nodded. "Yeah. Take it easy, Zelazny."

Zelazny smiled and winked as she followed Dylan and Rommie out of the med-bay. When they reached Dylan's ready-room, she stood in front of his desk, watching him curiously. "Yes, sir? You have questions that you don't want to ask in front of the others?"

Dylan nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and asked quickly, "Why is it that Rommie can obtain a partial scan of you, Zelazny?"

"My father was not a member of my mother's species. His species is readily scan-able so my physiology is incapable of completely deflecting scans. Thus the partial readings, sir."

Rommie caught Dylan's eye and nodded towards the door. "Wait here, please, Zelazny..." Dylan told her, following Rommie.

"Yes, sir."

"Sir, I can't tell if she's lying!" Rommie hissed when they were outside. She looked confused and more than a little frustrated.

"How can you not tell?"

Rommie sighed. "To tell if someone's lying, I read variations in respiration, pulse, blinking, galvanic skin response..."

Dylan nodded. "Can't you read those on her?"

"I can, but they haven't changed once since she boarded. Dylan, they didn't change when she stepped off of her ship and Tyr pulled a force-lance on her. It's like she was expecting it."

"If she is who she says, then she knows Tyr. Maybe she _was_ expecting it."

"And expecting you to start questioning her about her parents?"

Dylan shrugged. "It's... possible. I say we give her the benefit of the doubt. While watching her _very_ closely."

Rommie nodded. 

Dylan smiled. "Okay, let's go find out who the father is."

"I can definitely tell you who it isn't."

Dylan stared at her. 

"From what I've been able to get from my scans, I'm almost certain that her father was a human."

"You think it was anyone we know?"

"You mean you?" Rommie asked quietly.

Dylan frowned. "I don't know. I doubt it. I mean, Trance is nice, but..." He shook his head. "Not my type, Rommie." He paused. "You don't think it was... Harper?"

Rommie frowned. "It couldn't be. He would have died months ago. She would have had to have been pregnant by him when she changed places with her future self. I'm... pretty sure that they didn't have that kind of relationship."

"Let's find out." Dylan opened the door again.

"You want to know who my father is, don't you, sir?" Zelazny asked quietly. She was at the far end of the room, looking at the stars.

"What makes you think that?"

"It's the logical next question given where the last question was going. I think... I'm not sure I should tell you, sir. I don't think my mom would want... the person in question to know."

"Then it is someone on this ship?" Dylan asked.

Zelazny swallowed and slowly nodded. "Yes, sir."

Dylan looked at her thoughtfully. She suddenly looked very young and very vulnerable. "You can tell us. No one else has to know if you don't want them to."

"I want... I wouldn't mind if the... person in question was to know. I'm just not sure that mom wants him to."

"Why not?" Dylan asked.

"Because, things are hard enough with them already."

"It's Harper, isn't it?" Dylan asked gently. "That's why you're named after him?"

Zelazny stared at her feet. "Yes, sir."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

She shook her head. "No, sir."

"You have his memories, too?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Okay. I'm going to have Rommie walk you to a guest-room, and when you get there I want you to get some rest."

"Yes, sir."

"You don't have to worry. We won't tell Harper if you don't want us to."

"You shouldn't, sir. If mom wanted him to know, I'm sure she would have told him by now."

Dylan nodded slowly. "Okay, Zelazny. You get some rest now."

She smiled shyly and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"The question," Dylan muttered to Rommie when she had returned, "is whether we talk to Trance about this or not?"

Rommie shrugged. "I'm not sure it's necessary, sir. I can see where Trance would want to keep the fact that she had a daughter with Harper secret. Their relationship lately _has_ been tenuous. Zelazny is right. This _would_ further complicate it."

Dylan sighed. "So, what do we do with Zelazny?"

"At present, we let her get a much-needed rest."

Dylan nodded. "Any luck locating her 'radiation source' yet?"

"Actually, yes." Rommie nodded. "There are definitely elevated levels of gamma and alpha radiation on the ship."

"Are they high enough to be dangerous to the rest of the crew?"

"Not yet, but a few months of constant exposure to those levels would be fatal to every human on board. Probably to Tyr as well."

"So Trance's getting sick has basically saved all of our lives?"

Rommie nodded. "Actually, it seems that _Zelazny_ has saved all of your lives, Dylan."


	2. Memories of Better Days

**Chapter 2 -- Memories of Better Days**

"Mom, you're awake!" Zelazny said happily as she walked into the med-bay and saw Trance sitting up and talking to Harper. 

Trance smiled at her. "I hear I have you to thank for that."

Zelazny blushed bright purple and bowed her head. "I did what any good daughter would."

Trance grinned. "Harper, can we have a few minutes?"

"Sure things, Trance." Harper nodded and rose. He patted Zelazny on the shoulder before he walked out.

She stared after him for a moment, smiling, then turned to Trance. "I was so worried about you. _Radiation poisoning_!" She shook her head incredulously. 

"From what, though?" Trance asked.

Zelazny rolled her eyes, managing, to Trance's eyes, to look almost exactly like Harper. "You know that Magog swarm-ship that Rommie... liberated?"

"It was that?"

Zelazny nodded. "I guess the point-singularity weapon thingy wasn't shielded properly. They fixed it, though."

Trance smiled. "Thank you, Zelazny."

Zelazny nodded and took Trance's hand, kissing it. "Mom," she whispered, looking over her shoulder, "Dylan and Rommie know about Harper."

Trance sighed. "You told them?"

"I didn't mean for them to find out. They just _knew_."

"It's okay." Trance smiled reassuringly. "Did they tell Harper?"

She shook her head. "No, mom."

"Good. I don't think he'd understand very well yet."

"I really think he might, mom."

"If you want to tell him, Zelazny, I'm not going to stop you."

Zelazny slowly shook her head. "No, not yet. I'm not sure that _I'm_ ready either."

Trance nodded and squeezed her hand. "If you want... I can tell him for you."

"Let me think about that, mom."

Trance nodded. "You do that, love."

Zelazny smiled at her. "Get some sleep, mom. Doctor's orders."

Trance smiled and nodded. "If you say so. Are you going to look around?"

She nodded. "I was thinking I might. My only real memories of this ship... well, most of them aren't really mine at all."

Trance smiled. "Have fun, love."

"Yes, mom. Sleep well." Zelazny smiled at Trance and turned off the lights as she left.

"Hey, where are you going?" Harper asked, walking up to her.

"Exploring. I want to see if this ship lives up to its reputation."

Harper grinned at her. "Hey, with me as her engineer, can you doubt it?"

Zelazny grinned back. "Show me the Maru."

"What?"

"I want to see the Maru."

"Why?"

"I remember her. I want to see if she's the same."

Harper shrugged. "This way, Zelazny." On board, he said, "Well, what do you think?"

"It's smaller..." She frowned and looked around.

"Maybe you're just bigger..." Harper suggested, following her into the engine-core.

Zelazny ran her hand over the railing, smiling.

"Is it like you remember?" Harper asked curiously.

She silently nodded. "This is the place where you met my mother."

"The Maru, yeah."

"No, right here." Zelazny smiled and closed her eyes, leaning against the rail.

Harper frowned thoughtfully. It took him a moment to realize that she was right. "How'd you know that?"

Zelazny smiled at him without opening her eyes. "From my mom."

~~~

"And this is the engine-core..." Beka was saying to someone.

Harper looked up from his welding to see the new crewmember that everyone had been talking about. He nearly dropped his torch as the petite young woman stepped into view. He'd never seen anyone quite that... _purple_ before. And was that a... _tail_? The young woman was looking around with the kind of eagerness Harper himself had displayed the first time he had been in space. He saw her lips form the word 'wow' as she followed Beka.

"And _that_ is Harper." Beka stared at him. "Who seems to have fallen into some kind of, well, trance. Do you... often have that effect on men, Trance?"

She shook her head slowly. "Not normally, Beka." She looked at Harper and waved. "Hi. I'm Trance."

Harper continued to stare. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his life.

Beka shook her head and took Trance by the arm. "The crew-quarters are back here. We're short on bunk space right now, so you'll be sharing this bunk with Harper."

Trance frowned up at it. "I don't think we'll both fit, Beka."

Beka laughed and shook her head. "Harper sleeps most of the day and works most of the night. You'll take turns."

Trance nodded. "Oh. I guess that makes more sense."

Beka stared at her. "Are you for real, kid?"

Trance frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"Never mind." Beka shook her head.

Trance shrugged. "Okay. It looks cozy up there." She reached up and pulled herself into the bunk, wrapping her tail around a support-beam for balance.

"That thing must come in handy..." Beka observed.

"It has its uses." She smiled and jumped down. "Is Harper always so quiet?"

"Only when he's awake..."

Beka turned around in irritation. "Shut _up_, Miller!"

He shrugged and turned his attention to Trance. "Hello..."

"Forget it, Miller." Beka gave him a warning glance and he quickly left. "Just ignore him, Trance."

She nodded. "Okay."

"Okay, we keep the rations back here..." Beka said, continuing the tour.

Trance was calibrating the internal sensors when she heard the scream. She jumped to her feet and looked anxiously around. "Beka?" she asked uncertainly.

"It's okay, Trance." Beka smiled reassuringly. "It's just Harper." She cast a concerned glance back at the sleeping area.

"Is he... okay?" Trance asked, taking a step forward.

"He's fine, Trance. He just... he's had a hard life. Enough nasty memories for three lifetimes."

Miller laughed. Trance thought it was a horrible, nasty sound. "And _that_ is the reason we don't let him sleep in there with us at night..."

"Shut _up_, Miller!" Beka snapped. "Trance, what are you doing?" she asked as Trance left the cockpit.

"No one who hurts that much should ever have to be alone, Beka..." Trance said without looking over her shoulder. She walked straight to the sleeping area and pulled herself into the bunk, proving herself wrong. There was more than enough room for two. "It's okay, Harper..." she whispered in his ear, running her fingers lightly over his forehead. If his eyes had been opened, he might have seen a brief flash of purple energy spilling from her fingertips. "They're only memories. They can't hurt you..."

He opened his eyes and let out a startled yelp.

Trance smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

Harper stared at her in confusion. "What are you doing?" he asked, frowning.

"You were... having a bad dream. I was just telling you that..."

"It's okay..." Harper repeated, staring at her uncertainly. "They're only memories."

She nodded. "They can't hurt you, Harper."

"Seamus."

"Seamus? I thought your name was Harper?"

He grinned. "It is. Seamus Zelazny Harper."

"Oh." She smiled. "Trance Gemini."

"That's pretty."

She smiled and climbed down from the bunk. "I should get back to work. See you later, Seamus Zelazny Harper."

"Wait..."

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Why... why did you come here?"

"To the Maru?" Trance asked, frowning uncertainly.

He shook his head. "Back here, Trance."

"Oh." Trance shrugged. "It didn't sound like you were having a good time. I don't think anyone who hurts that much should ever have to be alone." She hesitated and smiled at him. "So... if you're ever hurt and alone and you don't want to be... let me know."

Harper grinned at her. As she left, he called, "I'll hold you to that!"

Trance grinned at him over her shoulder. "You'd better, Harper."

~~~

"What are you two up to?" Beka asked, walking into the engine core.

Zelazny smiled at her. "Reliving old times, Aunt Beka."

Beka stared at her. "Do you have old times here?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Good times?"

"None of my old times are good times, Aunt Beka..." Zelazny said softly.

"That's too bad. All kids deserve at least a few good memories."

Zelazny shrugged. "Sometimes the best of memories come from the worst of times."

"How do you figure?" Beka asked.

Zelazny smiled. She looked a lot like the old Trance when she smiled that shy, uncertain little smile. "Sometimes it takes the worst to bring out the best in people, Aunt Beka. Like this crew..." She shrugged. "Can I go to hydroponics now?"

"Hydroponics?" Beka asked.

Zelazny grinned and nodded. "I learned to walk in hydroponics."

"Really?" Beka asked.

She nodded. "Yup. You and Uncle Tyr taught me as a surprise for mom. She was so busy... with repairs that she didn't even notice." She grinned impishly. "Of course, I helped to keep it a secret, too."

"Me and Tyr taught you how to walk?" Beka asked.

"Uh-huh."

"What else did we teach you?"

"Tyr taught me to fight." Zelazny smiled. "And you taught me how to be the second-best slipstream pilot in the galaxy. And you taught me that in Dylan Hunt we trust."

Beka stared. "I taught you that?"

"You and Tyr." She nodded. "I remember everything you've ever taught me. We don't forget things the way most species do."

"Was your father like Trance?" Beka asked.

Zelazny paused. "Um... not really. I don't like to talk about it."

"Sorry. We won't then."

Zelazny smiled at her. "Thanks, Aunt Beka."

"No problem." Beka smiled at her, then glanced at Harper. "You look exhausted."

"Eh." Harper shrugged.

"Sleep!" Beka ordered firmly.

"Okay, okay..." Harper shrugged and left.

"So, you... grew up on board the Andromeda?" Beka asked Zelazny as they walked to hydroponics.

"Kind of. Until... you know... we couldn't live here any more. Then I spent some time on Mobius at the military academy there."

"Oh." Beka nodded.

"And then... well, eventually I had to leave there, too, so I came to live with you and Tyr and Dylan and mom on the Maru. I helped fix things..."

"Really?" Beka asked, smiling. "Like Harper?"

"Well, not _that_ good." She shrugged.

Beka smiled at her. "You're a lot like your mother, Zelazny."

"I take after both sides." She shrugged. "I think I take after all of you a little."

Beka smiled. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Beka spoke again. "You said that Tyr taught you how to fight?"

Zelazny nodded, then grinned. "You said that you'd never forget the look on his face the first time I beat him."

"You could beat _Tyr_?" Beka asked.

Zelazny nodded and grinned proudly. "Since I was twelve."

"Wow..." Beka laughed. "What did Tyr say?"

"He cursed a lot."

Beka laughed.

"And then he said that it proved that he was a superior teacher of the martial arts." She blushed. "And that he was proud of me."

Beka smiled. "That's _very_ high praise coming from Tyr."

Zelazny nodded. "I know."

Beka stopped suddenly, grinning. "Hey, I've got an idea."

"You want me to suggest a friendly match to Tyr?"

"How did you know?"

"I know you, Aunt Beka."

"I guess." Beka smiled. "Well, what do you think?"

"Do you only want me to bruise his pride, or do I have permission to bruise the rest of him as well?"

Beka grinned uncertainly. "Um... just his pride, I think."

Zelazny smiled. "Sounds like fun. If you can talk him in to it."

"You think I won't be able to?" Beka asked.

Zelazny shrugged. "Tyr's funny. Not always as predictable as one of his species should be."

Beka shrugged. "Trust me, kid. _All_ men are predictable. Let's find him."

"You want me to do _what_?" Tyr scoffed.

"Fight me." Zelazny smiled cheerfully. "It was Beka's idea."

Tyr looked from the small woman in front of him to Beka. "_Was it_, Captain Valentine?"

Beka grinned and nodded. "Yeah. She says she knows a move or two. I thought we could... test it."

Tyr eyed Beka thoughtfully. She was definitely up to something. He smiled, intrigued. "Very well. Assuming the young lady isn't going to run crying for her mommy the first time she gets thrown..."

Zelazny smiled innocently. "You have to actually throw me, first. I... don't think my mom's rest will be disturbed."

Tyr chuckled at her confidence. "Little lady... you intrigue me."

Zelazny's smile was somewhat less friendly. "I do my best."

"Very well, then." Tyr indicated the mat. "Which rules?"

"First one to give up looses."

"You're joking?" Tyr asked.

"No." Zelazny shook her head. "I never yield, so I can't lose."

"Unless your pretty little neck gets broken."

Zelazny shrugged. "It's never really been my best feature anyway."

"Are you always this foolishly confident?"

"It's not foolish, but yes." Zelazny nodded. 

Tyr walked to the mat. "You need a lesson in humility, little lady."

Zelazny stepped onto the mat opposite him. "Educate me."

Tyr smiled at her. "With pleasure, little lady."

"Tell you what, Ubber," Zelazny suggested quietly.

"Don't call me that..."

"If I win, you stop calling me little lady."

Tyr shrugged acceptance. "And if _I_ win?"

"I stop calling you Ubber."

"She's just trying to piss you off, Tyr!" Beka called from where she was sitting.

"I know." Tyr glanced briefly at Beka. "It's working."

"Aren't you lucky I didn't bring my shriller?" Zelazny asked benignly, smiling at him.

"This is how you win your fights, little lady?" Tyr asked. "By annoying you opponents into submission?"

"No." Zelazny smiled cheerfully. "I _beat_ them into submission to win my fights. I just annoy them for fun."

Tyr smiled at her. "Enough fun, little lady. Now we fight."

"What, no weapons?"

"You have your nails and your teeth. Do you require more?"

"Ooh, this promises to be fun..." Zelazny winked at him and began circling the mat.

Tyr frowned and watched her for a moment, trying to divine the meaning behind the wink. His reflection was soon cut off as Zelazny charged him. He put up his hands, ready to bring them down on the back of her head, only to find her behind him more quickly than he could react. He spun around and right into her raised fist.

"That looks painful..." Beka observed.

"No one asked you!" Tyr snapped, backing away and sizing Zelazny up. 

He smiled at her and she smiled right back, moment before diving towards him again. This time, instead of dodging around him, she slid under him, between his ankles. As she slid out behind him, she kicked outwards with her legs, knocking Tyr's feet out from under him. He landed on the mat with a grunt. Zelazny jumped on top of him, smiling and rested the palm of one hand against his forehead.

"Ready to give up yet?" she whispered.

"I think not..." Tyr growled at her.

"Mmm... The Ubber like to play rough. Good. Me too." 

She jumped away as Tyr's fist came down on her back. The blow, which would have broken bones if she had not moved, glanced off of her shoulder. She rolled under the force of the blow and used the momentum it provided to gain her feet again. She rubbed her hands together and waited for Tyr to rise.

"Why did you not finish me while I was down?" Tyr demanded of her as he climbed to his feet.

Zelazny shrugged. "What do you think?"

Tyr suddenly began to entertain a nagging suspicion that this _child_ was playing with him. The suspicion was confirmed when they both landed on the mat again, Tyr on top, and Zelazny began laughing quietly. Tyr hesitated for a moment, staring at her. Zelazny seized the advantage to flip Tyr. He landed on his back with a grunt. Zelazny flipped herself and landed on Tyr's chest.

"Who taught you how to fight, woman?" Tyr demanded.

Zelazny leaned over him and purred in his ear, "_You_ did." 

Tyr laughed and pushed her to the ground, climbing on top of her. Beka glanced at her watch and shook her head. "Come on, Tyr!" she shouted. "I _know_ you can do better than that!"

Tyr glanced up at her. "Of course I could, Captain Valentine, but in so doing I would deprive myself of a decidedly superior opponent."

"It's still a game to you?" Zelazny muttered, awed. "Wow..." 

She drove her heel into Tyr's shin, causing him to howl and instinctively grab at the injury. Zelazny clambered to her feet and waited. Tyr stared up at her thoughtfully for a moment, then extended his hands.

"I yield, my lady..." He bowed his head and stared up thoughtfully at her.

She dropped to her knees next to him. "Can you walk?"

Tyr nodded. "I believe so. You... knew about my old injury?"

She nodded. "Once, in a moment of weakness, you told me."

"Weakness?" Tyr repeated dubiously.

"Okay, maybe it was more like a parental indulgence. Come here." She reached out and wrapped her hands around his shin.

"Hey!" Tyr protested, trying to pull away. He stopped when he became aware that the pain was subsiding. He stared at her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm talking your body into releasing more endorphins. Hold still."

"He really taught you to fight like that?" Beka asked, staring curiously at Tyr's leg. 

"No. The Tyr I knew would have been furious with me for exploiting a known weakness to cripple an ally in a friendly match." 

"What are you doing to him?"

"Making amends." She looked up at Tyr. "Better?"

"Amazingly, yes." Tyr stared at her uncertainly. "I see I have underestimated you."

"You of all people should know better than to make such a mistake." Zelazny smiled and helped him to his feet.

"You fight like a Nietzschean."

"Dirty?" she asked with a grin. "Thank you, Tyr."

He laughed and ruffled her hair. "Little lady, I think I am beginning to like you very much indeed."

Zelazny rolled her eyes at him. "Don't make me beat you up again, old man. Is there any red meat to be had on this ship?"

Tyr laughed again. "Are you _sure_ that you aren't a Nietzschean?"


	3. Three Conversations

**Chapter 3 -- Three Conversations**

"You enjoy fighting with Beka more than you enjoy fighting with me, don't you?" Zelazny asked as Tyr handed her a glass of water and a towel. Not that she needed one. Unlike the Nietzschean, she had not broken a sweat during the fight.

"What gives you that idea?" Tyr asked, toweling off his face.

"I've seen you do it. You _like_ it."

Tyr stared at her thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "Beka Valentine is a worthy opponent."

"If you say so..." Zelazny muttered.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean, woman?"

She looked at him over the rim of her water-glass. "I think I preferred 'little lady'. What do you think it means, Tyr Anasazi?"

"I think it means that you take too much interest in matters which do not concern you."

"Really?" Zelazny smiled whimsically. "If you say so."

"Stop saying that."

"If you say so." She winked at him. "I'm serious, Tyr. It may not be my business, but I'm not blind, either."

"Are you saying that there is something... _obvious_ about my... preference for Captain Valentine as a partner on the mat?"

"That's precisely what I'm saying, Tyr."

"She's not a Nietzschean."

"You're kidding, Tyr!" Zelazny looked at him with mock amazement, then shook her head in disgust. "You really think that matters in this universe? Have you looked around you lately? Happiness is in short supply, Tyr, and I pity the idiot who does not seize it where he may."

Tyr eyed her thoughtfully. "Happiness is not always amenable to being _seized_, my dear Zelazny. Especially in some forms."

"Is that so? I hadn't noticed." She smiled faintly. "Myself, I think that happiness is _always_ amenable to being seized, so long as it does not know that this is what is happening to it."

"You speak in obscurities."

"I'm my mother's daughter."

"Your mother would never have started this conversation with me."

"I'm my mother's daughter, _not_ my mother."

Tyr nodded. "Educate me, then, oh obscure one. What do you mean."

"I mean simply that as long as happiness thinks that it is seeking a person out of its own accord, it is unlikely to resent being seized."

"You even _think_ like a Nietzschean."

"I learned from the best."

"From me?" Tyr scoffed. "You could have had better teachers."

"I've never thought so. On earth, an ancient species called the Spartans taught their children to shoot straight and speak the truth."

"Well, I am certain that you shoot straight." Tyr smiled at her.

She smiled back. "Sometimes I even speak the truth. When it suits me."

Tyr laughed. "Well, hypothetically speaking, if Tyr Anasazi were to seize happiness without happiness knowing that it had been seized... How would he go about this?"

"You want me to give you all the answers? Doesn't that eliminate half the fun?"

Tyr chuckled softly. "I suppose it does." He hesitated. "Or perhaps not." He leaned forward. "You know the future. That's a valuable asset indeed."

Zelazny crossed her arms. "No freebies, Tyr. I'll give you all the advice you want, but I will _not_ tell you the future."

"And why not?"

"Because, my mother would not approve."

"As you so recently pointed out, though, you are _not_ your mother."

"No, but I am her daughter. I owe her more than my life, I owe her my self."

"Tell me about her 'perfect possible future'."

"It is a dream. Unlikely to pass any time soon, if ever."

"You do not believe it is possible, then?"

"I've never seen anything to indicate that it is, no." Zelazny shook her head.

"You do not believe in her agenda, and yet you support it. Why?"

Zelazny folded her arms again. "You do not believe in Dylan Hunt's agenda and yet _you_ support _it_. Why?" She rose abruptly. "Thank you, Tyr Anasazi, for the fight, the water, and the engaging conversation. I hope that we may do it again some time."

Tyr stared after her as she left, trying to work out an answer to her parting question. Her manner and the tone of voice she had used had suggested that, perhaps, she felt that he was not as skeptical of Dylan's agenda as he claimed. He was troubled that he was not able to work out a satisfactory denial of the fact.

"Hey, Tyr." Beka entered the room. "Where's Zelazny?"

He looked up, startled. "I am... not sure. Our conversation reached its logical conclusion and she left."

"Huh." Beka shrugged. She turned to leave.

"Beka? Would you care for a few rounds on the mat?" Tyr asked.

Beka looked at him curiously, then nodded. "Sure, why not. If you want, I can show you how to fight like a girl." She winked and started for the gym.

Tyr stared after her in surprise for a moment before following. He was smiling with anticipation.

***

Zelazny walked on to the bridge. "Hello, sir."

"Oh, hi, Zelazny." Dylan smiled and nodded. "What are you doing up here?"

"Mom's still sleeping decom off. I'll leave if you like."

He shook his head quickly. "That's really not necessary. You _are_ free to move around the ship."

"So I make you uncomfortable, sir?" Zelazny asked. 

"What gives you that idea?"

"The way you act around me. It's like you don't trust me or something."

"It's not that I don't trust you..." Dylan assured her. "I'm just... In a lot of ways, I guess I'm still getting used to the fact that Trance has a daughter."

"And the fact that my father is... who he is?"

Dylan nodded. "I'm still not entirely clear on how that happened."

"If you wish for details, you are going to have to ask my mother. It is her business, not mine, and not yours unless she makes it so."

Dylan nodded. "I don't mean to pry. I'm just trying to figure you out."

Zelazny grinned. "My mother still hasn't, and she's got a superior frame of reference."

"Can you tell me what it was like for you growing up?" Dylan asked.

"If you wish to hear, yes."

"I'd like to get to know you better, Zelazny. Maybe it'll help me get to know the new Trance better as well."

"It probably will, yes." Zelazny nodded. "Ask away, sir."

"Could you call me Dylan?"

"I can try. But I called you sir or Captain for so long that I might need to be reminded a time or two."

Dylan smiled. "I'll keep reminding you. Let's go into my ready-room."

"Yes, sir... Dylan."

Dylan smiled and followed her into the ready-room. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"I'm fine, Dylan."

He stopped and looked at her. "Where'd you get that bruise? It's fresh."

"Tyr and I were... reliving old times."

"Dare I ask?"

"He taught me how to fight when I was a kid. This time, I got to teach him a thing or two."

"Really?" Dylan laughed appreciatively.

Zelazny blushed and bowed her head. "Of course, I had the advantage. I know all his moves and he knew none of mine. Next time we'll be more evenly matched."

Dylan smiled. "So, will you be staying with us after your mother gets well?"

"I... don't know yet. I have largely managed to build a life for myself in this time. Abandoning it is not a step to be taken lightly."

"Well, you're always welcomed on the Andromeda."

"It is a comfort to know this." She bowed her head. When she looked up, she asked, "You wished to know about my childhood?"

Dylan nodded. "If you can tell me without giving away the future. You seem as reluctant as your mother to do that."

"For different reasons, but yes, I am. Still, there's little harm that I can see in telling you things that you could reasonably infer if you cared to. Ask away."

Dylan shrugged. "Where did you grow up? Here? Onboard the Andromeda?" 

She hesitated. "Partly aboard this ship, but also aboard the Maru, and I spent several years in the military academy on Mobius."

"And Tyr taught you how to fight while you were on the Andromeda?"

She nodded. "He did. He trained me for many years in the martial arts. He also helped Beka teach me how to walk." She smiled fondly. "It was a good time for all of us. For those few years, all the evils of the universe seemed insignificant in comparison to the fact that we all had each other. Everyone was happy, even my mother. Only one thing was missing."

"Harper?"

She nodded. "Yes, but instead of mourning for him, we remembered the good times, and that made it easier."

"What happened? When did it change? When did it go bad?"

"It started to go bad long before we realized that it had. By the time we saw what was happening all around us, it was too late." She fell silent. "But that's still many years in the future, and it may not happen at all now."

"That would be good."

"Yes, it would." Zelazny closed her eyes briefly. "They taught me to walk in hydroponics."

~~~

"Tyr, you're going to drop her!" Beka laughed, retrieving Zelazny from his shoulder.

"I want Uncle Tyr!" the baby protested.

She had learned to talk at six months, as soon as her mouth and throat had been capable of forming the right sounds. She was smart, too, born with all the memories of both parents, as Trance had explained. At eleven months, she still lacked much of the coordination necessary for walking, but she was rapidly improving. Tyr laughed indulgently and took Zelazny from Beka, who protested with a laugh. She smiled at Tyr and wrapped her arms around the baby he was holding. Laughing, Tyr pulled both into a hug. Beka protested, and tried to pull away, but Tyr held her tighter.

"What's wrong, Captain Valentine?" he whispered in her ear.

"Tyr, let go." Beka gave him a serious look and shook her head. "Not in front of the baby..." she whispered.

"Of course." Grinning, Tyr released her. "Now, how shall we keep young Zelazny occupied while Trance is busy with the engine?"

"I want to learn to walk."

"You can't walk yet..." Beka pointed out, smiling. It was amazing how quickly one got used to a baby with the intelligence of an adult.

"Practice makes perfection."

Laughing, Tyr set her on the ground. "She has us there, Beka."

Grinning, Beka helped Zelazny to her feet. "How are we going to do this?"

Tyr frowned thoughtfully. "What if we each take a hand?"

Shrugging, Beka had agreed. Zelazny ended up on her butt three times before they realized that it was not working. The last time, she tried to wrap her tail around something for balance and pulled Tyr and Beka to the ground in a tangle. All three were laughing quite loudly by that time, so it took Tyr and Beka a few moments to realize that Zelazny had managed to remain standing.

"I'm fine if I don't try to step..." she had said softly.

It had taken three lessons on three successive days before Zelazny could cross the hydroponics bay, from Tyr to Beka, without falling. Trance had been amazed.

"She shouldn't be able to walk for another two or three months!" she laughed, cuddling Zelazny in her arms as she hugged Tyr and Beka. "Well, as smart as your daddy was, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you ended up a prodigy."

Zelazny wrapped her tail around her mother's arm and smiled up at her. "I wish he could be here."

"Me too, baby." Trance smiled sadly. "He would be so proud of his little girl."

"I know." Zelazny smiled reassuringly at Trance. "It's okay, mommy. Everything's going to be okay. Just like you promise."

Trance smiled at her. "One day, baby, I _am_ going to show you that perfect possible future of mine."

~~~

"What else did they teach you?" Dylan asked, smiling at the happy expression on her face.

"Well, Tyr taught me how to fight, as I said. Beka taught me how to fly."

"That all?"

"No. They also taught me that in Dylan Hunt we trust. Those were my first words, you know."

"Really?" Dylan smiled and blushed.

Zelazny smiled at him. "Definitely. You were always like a grandfather to me. And more."

"You're kidding?"

She shook her head gravely. "My mother and father both loved and respected you so much. I guess it rubbed off. Not that I wouldn't have felt the same way growing up with you around. You were always so good to all of us, even Tyr who you didn't always agree with and my mom who you didn't always understand. And..." _Rommie._

"And?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. You were a good man. I couldn't have had a better role-model."

"It must have been kind of confusing for you, being fed my set of beliefs and Tyr's set of beliefs all at once."

"Not really. If I'd been a normal baby, probably, but I had the experiences of my parents to draw on. I very quickly found out that you were both right."

"I beg your pardon?" Dylan laughed.

"It's what Aristotle called the 'Golden Mean'. Between one extreme of belief and the other lies the truth."

"So Tyr and I are the extremes?" Dylan asked.

She nodded. "Almost total altruism and... well, Tyr."

Dylan laughed. "So, you think you found the good middle-ground?"

"Well, I certainly hope so? If not, well, then I've been leading my life all wrong. Wouldn't _that_ be a waste?"

Dylan grinned. He looked up as Rommie's hologram appeared. "Yes?"

"Harper is seriously short-handed in the engine-core, Dylan."

Zelazny rose. "I'll go."

"You sure?" Dylan asked.

"I have all of his memories and knowledge, remember?"

"Then you must be one hell of an engineer." Dylan smiled.

"Are you kidding?" Zelazny asked as she left. "I'm a freakin' genius!"

Dylan stared after her, too amazed to laugh for several minutes.

***

"I hear you need help?" Zelazny asked Harper.

He looked up dubiously. "Do you know what you're doing? Can you fix micro fissures?"

She gave him a challenging grin. "I like to think so, but there's only one way to find out."

"Fine. Hand me the..." Harper trailed off as she dropped the spot-welder into his hand. 

Zelazny picked up a scanner and began assessing the situation as Harper recovered.

"How did you..." he began.

"It is what you needed, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but how did you know?"

"Well, a spot-welder seemed like the logical choice for micro fissures." She grinned at him. "I'm quite a good engineer, Harper."

Harper shrugged. "Okay, then. Let's get to work."

Harper was surprised to find that they could work in perfect accord in total silence. All he had to do was extend his hand and Zelazny would provide the proper tool. They finished in less than half the time it would have taken him alone.

"What are you?" Harper asked as they washed their hands. "A mindreader?"

"Not at all. I'm just a damned good engineer." She looked at him quizzically. "I thought that you would be pleased by my efficiency..."

Harper took an uncertain step backwards. "You're not about to start crying, are you?"

"I most certainly am _not_!" Zelazny made a disgusted face at the idea. 

"Good. You want a Sparky Cola?"

Zelazny considered, then nodded. "I've never had one, but I hear that you practically _lived_ on them."

Harper grinned and shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah. I can't believe you never had one, though."

"All that caffeine wouldn't be good for a growing me."

Harper laughed. "Never did me any harm."

"Tyr might suggest that that's debatable." She managed to maintain a solemn expression for less than five seconds, before the urge to grin became overpowering.

"Tyr's Nietzschean..." Harper pointed out with a laugh. He handed her a can. "You know, Zelazny, you're pretty cool."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm not saying that you aren't all spooky and mysterious like Trance, but you're cool, too."

"Are you saying that my mother isn't cool?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and scowling at him.

"She's cool, she's cool!" Harper said defensively, smiling at her mock anger. "It's just that _you_... You are..."

"Different?" Zelazny asked gently.

Harper nodded. "Yeah. I'm still trying to figure out how, and I will, too."

"If you say so."

"_I will_!" Harper said firmly. "There is definitely something strange about you, Zelazny..."

"You say the same thing about my mother."

"But with you it's different."

"How?"

"Well, for starters, you're even hotter than she is, but I'm not attracted to you. _That_ is weird."

Zelazny giggled.

"Second..." Harper continued, grinning, "You seem to be able to read minds."

"I do _not_ read minds, Harper."

"You read my mind. Or, at least you anticipate everything I'm going to say and do. You do the same with your mother, but not, I've noticed, with Tyr or Beka or Dylan."

"Don't be silly, Harper. I couldn't possibly anticipate everything you're going to say and do. Even my mom doesn't know the probabilities _that_ well."

"Then it's something else."

"You're seeing things that aren't there." Zelazny handed her cola back to him, unopened. "I need to go now."

"Why?" Harper asked, frowning. "What'd I say?"

Zelazny ignored him and left the engine-room at a half-run.

"Zelazny!" Harper called, following. "What's..." He stopped dead, dropping his can of cola onto the floor. "Oh my God..." he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "No, it couldn't..." He shook his head. "It's not possible, Harper." But a little voice in the back of his head nagged that maybe it _was_ possible after all. He staggered to the med-bay and shook Trance awake.

She looked up at him uncertainly. "What's wrong, Harper? Is something wrong?"

"Trance, I need you to tell me something. And you've got to promise to tell me the truth."

She nodded groggily. "Sure, Harper. What?"

"Who's Zelazny's father?"

Trance stared at him with wide eyes but made no move to answer.

"It's me, isn't it, Trance?"

"Harper..." Trance began.

"Yes or no, Trance!" Harper snapped. "I have a right to know..."

Trance stared at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Harper..." she muttered.

"It's true, then?"

Trance nodded silently. "I'm so sorry..."

Harper did not listen. He ran from the room, not looking where he was going.


	4. Truths and Consequence

**Chapter 4 -- Truths and Consequence**

"Harper, what are you doing?" Beka asked, frowning. He was sitting in one of the Maru's cargo-holds, just staring into space with a funny look on his face. "Are you okay?" She walked over to him and gave him a concerned look.

He looked up at her with an unreadable expression. "What do you think of Zelazny?" he asked quietly.

Beka frowned at the question. "I don't know. She's a good kid, I guess. Why? Are you two having some kind of problem?" She sat down next to him.

Harper looked at her. "Beka, she's... mine."

"Huh?" Beka asked, frowning in confusion.

"Mine!" Harper repeated, shaking his head. "Mine and Trance's, Beka!"

Beka stared at him with wide eyes. "You mean..."

Harper nodded. "She's my daughter, Beka..." he muttered, burying his face in his hands.

Beka stared at him, too shocked for a moment to speak. Finally, she said, "I didn't realize that you and Trance were..."

"We're not..." Harper muttered. "We never have been."

"Oh." Beka nodded. No wonder Harper was hiding away on the Maru. "How're you holding up?"

"I've been better." Harper sighed. "You know, I don't think they planned on telling me."

Beka stared. "How did you..."

He shrugged. "I just kind of figured it out. I made some comments that freaked Zelazny out and then I went and asked Trance. And she said..." He sighed and looked up at her hopelessly. "What am I going to do, Beka?"

"I... I'm not sure, Harper. Talk to them, I guess."

"And say what? I have never been this confused and freaked out in my life, Beka! This is freakin' insane."

Beka rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Harper."

"Is it? Really?"

"Sure." Beka nodded. "It's just... one more thing about the new Trance that we'll learn to deal with."

Harper shook his head. "This isn't a new skin-tone or better fighting abilities, Beka. I..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"What?" Beka asked quietly. "Harper?"

"I... I guess I'm a little hurt, Beka."

"Hurt?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, that she kept it from me. We had this whole... thing together that she was never going to tell me about."

"I'm sure she had her reasons, Harper. Have you asked her about them?"

Harper shook his head. "I'm still trying to deal."

"It might be easier if you could understand a little better..." Beka suggested gently.

Harper nodded and rose.

"Are you going to go talk to her?"

"Not... yet." Harper shook his head. "I think I need a little more time to absorb all this."

"Okay." Beka nodded. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

Harper nodded weakly. "Thanks, Beka."

"Hang in there, Harper." Beka smiled reassuringly as she climbed to her feet.

He nodded again and left. Beka stared after him with a sigh. Just when life had been starting to get a little less confusing... Trance and _Harper_? Shaking her head, she left the Maru.

***

Zelazny stood on the Obs deck, watching the stars go by. She recognized Tyr by the sound that his feet made on the deck. "How was your fight with Beka?" she asked quietly.

Tyr smiled. "I won."

"Good for you..." Zelazny muttered without conviction.

Tyr frowned and joined her. "You're troubled."

"Yes." She nodded.

"Why? What has happened?"

"Harper found out something that he wasn't supposed to."

"That you are his daughter?"

Zelazny stared at him in surprise.

"The resemblance is rather striking."

"How long have you know?"

"First time I saw you." Tyr rested a hand on her shoulder. "He reacted poorly?"

Zelazny nodded. "Mom's locked herself in her room and won't come out."

"Lovely..." Tyr muttered, frowning. 

"I'm just going to leave soon, I think. Hell, this is a big part of the reason why I haven't shown up before now."

"Harper is a _human_, Zelazny. They are prone to over-reaction, but he will recover quickly enough."

"I know that. I know _him_. It's just that... I didn't want mom to have to suffer through this nonsense."

"Your mother is resilient. She will not suffer for long."

Zelazny nodded. "I know, I know... I'm just... really ticked off at both of them right now."

Tyr eyed her curiously. "How is that?"

"I'm mad at Harper for making mom suffer. I'm mad at mom for not telling Harper sooner. I'm mad at both of them for doing something as stupid as having me..."

"As far as I can tell, little lady, having you was one of their finest achievements."

"No child should have to grow up knowing the things I was born knowing."

"So, you would rather you did not exist?"

"My father died within an hour of my conception. In me are all of his memories and all of my mother's. I remember being attacked by the Magog and being used as a host for their offspring. I remember loosing my tail helping to rescue a woman who, perhaps, did not deserve rescue. I remember watching Nietzscheans kill my parents. I remember being tortured for information about my species." She looked up at Tyr. "I could go on for hours. Those are memories no child should have to face."

Tyr nodded, his face expressionless. "But there are good memories as well?"

She nodded. "Yeah, there are those, too."

"Why don't you tell me some of those..." Tyr suggested gently, hoping it would cheer her up.

Zelazny nodded and smiled. "I remember the first time I flew in space. I remember when the most beautiful woman in the universe joined my Captain's crew. I remember comforting a boy who's dreams were troubled. I remember making friends and comforting them and being comforted by them. I remember what it was like to have Purpose. I remember holding someone I cared about in my arms and how, in that moment, all the evils we had seen stopped mattering in the least..." Zelazny trailed off, smiling faintly.

Tyr smiled at her. "I must say that, all in all, it seems a fair trade, the good memories for the bad."

"Perhaps." Zelazny nodded. "They're both remarkably stubborn people, though, and they're making each other suffer. It's wrong."

"Perhaps it is, but it is there decision."

Zelazny nodded. "I know it is. I won't interfere, but that doesn't mean I have to approve."

"You don't interfere in the love-lives of your parents, yet you see fit to try to push me in Beka Valentine's direction?"

Zelazny shrugged. "What can I say? You make a cute couple."

"Have we before?" Tyr asked.

"No freebies, Anasazi..." Zelazny said with a grin. "I am _not_ going to tell you the future."

"Why not?" Tyr asked.

"Because, there's no such thing."

"Isn't there?"

She shook her head. "There is only the present. Looking too much to the future tends to distract attention from that fact."

Tyr smiled faintly. "I see."

Zelazny smiled at him. "No, you don't, but you will some day."

"Do you know that from experience?"

"_No freebies_."

Tyr smiled faintly. "Come fight with me."

"Eager to get your butt kicked again?"

"Perhaps it will take my mind off of the future and yours off of the present."

Zelazny shrugged and followed him from the Obs deck. On the mat, Zelazny bowed slightly to her opponent, never taking her eyes off of his face.

"Courtesy?" Tyr asked, smiling.

"Worthy opponents deserve a courteous reception."

"I see." Tyr bowed to her as well. "Shall we?"

"Whenever you're ready." Grinning slightly, Zelazny bent her knees fractionally and raised her hands. The deck lurched beneath her feet, knocking her to the ground. "What was that?" she asked, pulling herself to her feet.

"It certainly felt like weapons fire..." Tyr muttered.

"_Battle Stations!_" Rommie's voice came over the ship's comm-system. "_Hull breach on deck eight!_"

"I guess we'll have to finish this later..." Zelazny muttered as they ran towards the bridge.

"Who'd we piss off this week?" Harper asked, arriving on the bridge moments after Tyr and Zelazny.

"We're not sure..." Dylan muttered in disgust as they manned their stations. "Where's Trance?" he asked Zelazny as she moved to Trance's place.

"Still under the weather."

Dylan stared at her. "Can you do this?"

"Yes, sir, I can."

"Okay, then."

"Dylan, their weapons are powering up again..." Rommie announced.

"Beka, evasive maneuvers! Tyr, return fire!"

The ship rocked again.

"Hull breaches on decks five, seven, and fifteen!" Rommie announced.

"Does anyone know who they are?" Dylan demanded.

Zelazny stared at the ship on the view-screen. "I do. Run away now..."

Dylan stared at her.

"Dylan," Rommie said "they are powering up their weapons again."

"Beka, get us out of here!"

"Going to slipstream..."

"Are they following?" Dylan demanded.

Rommie paused. "No."

"They will..." Zelazny promised.

Dylan stared at her. "Who are they?" 

"Ubbers."

"_Nietzscheans_?" Dylan asked, frowning.

She nodded. "Dragons."

"I've never seen the Drago-Kazov pride in a ship like that."

"It's new. Still in the prototype phase." Zelazny sighed. "And as long as the crew is standing, your weapons aren't going to put a dent in it."

Dylan stared at her. "As long as the crew is standing?"

"Is there somewhere in this system that we can hide the ship?" Zelazny asked. "I need a few hours."

"For _what_?" Dylan demanded. 

"For some quick repairs and to hack into the Nietzschean comm system."  

Dylan stared at Zelazny. "You have a plan?"

Zelazny nodded.

"Share."

"As soon as we're safely hidden, sir, I will be more than glad to. They _will_ follow us, and they _will_ destroy us if they can find us."

Dylan sighed. "Rommie, is there somewhere that we can hide the ship?"

"There's a large nebula..." An image of the giant cloud appeared on the screen. "The radiation from the cloud will hide our energy signature."

"Beka, take us in." Dylan looked at Zelazny. "You're plan?"

Zelazny rose and approached Dylan. She explained her plan in a voice so quiet that even Tyr could not hear her.

"And that will debilitate them?"

She nodded. "We'd been doing it for years by the time I came back. Drove them _crazy_."

Dylan sighed and nodded. "Do what you have to."

***

"The Nietzscheans are approaching..." Rommie announced.

"Zelazny?" Dylan asked urgently. 

"One more minute..." Zelazny muttered. 

Dylan nodded and handed Tyr a pair of headphones. "Tyr, put these on."

"Why?" Tyr frowned.

"Trust me."

Tyr took the headphones and slipped them over his ears, staring suspiciously from Dylan to Zelazny. Harper and Beka watched the young woman work curiously.

"Done..." Zelazny announced triumphantly. She reached under her shirt and pulled a long, hollow tube from her waistband.

"Is that a shriller?" Harper laughed.

"Well, I've made a few modifications." Zelazny shrugged. "I suggest you plug your ears." She looked at Dylan. "Ready."

He nodded. "Rommie."

"Opening a channel... now." 

Zelazny typed a few commands on the board in front of her and then raised the shriller to her lips. The sound that came from it when she blew knocked Dylan to his knees. He belatedly plugged his ears as Rommie helped him up. Zelazny stared at the timepiece on her wrist as she blew, holding a steady note for ninety seconds before dropping the shriller and closing the channel.

"And what does that do to them, exactly?" Beka asked, walking over to help Tyr, who, despite his protective headphones was kneeling at his station with his head between his hands.

"Well, to Tyr it was just painful. But he had headphones and I magnified the signal that I sent to the Ubbers about a hundred times. Their ears should stop bleeding in a week or two."

Dylan stared at her. "That's... um, an ingenious use of technology."

"Not mine. It's Harper's."

"Hey, my shriller never did _that_..." Harper muttered, checking his ears for blood.

"Well, I extended the range of sound it's capable of producing." Zelazny shrugged. 

Harper slowly smiled at her. "That's my girl."

"How long will they be disabled for?" Tyr asked, recovering.

"Two or three hours. Personally, I don't plan on letting them live that long." Zelazny rose and started for the weapon's station.

"Zelazny!" Dylan snapped. "You can't kill them. They're helpless!"

"You think they would have let that stop them from killing us, sir?" She stared at him. "There can be no mercy for the merciless, Captain. When they recover, they will be _very_ angry with us. They will hunt us down and destroy us unless we destroy them first."

Dylan rubbed his forehead thoughtfully.

"There is one weakness on that entire ship..." Zelazny muttered.

"Where?" Tyr asked.

"Right above the rear exhaust-port. You hit that, and you'll trigger an explosion which will cause the entire super-structure of the ship to disintegrate. End of problem."

"How can you speak of it so casually?" Dylan demanded.

Zelazny stared at him sadly. "Years of practice, sir, and the knowledge that it's your lives or theirs. Seems like an easy call to me."

"Is there any way to just disable the ship without destroying it?"

She shook her head. "No, sir. They didn't want there to be even a chance that these things would fall into enemy hands."

"Dylan, I'm going to have to agree with her on this..." Beka muttered.

Tyr nodded. "They will not hesitate to destroy us, and the same trick is unlikely to work twice on them."

"Fine, do it..." Dylan sighed as Tyr fired a barrage at the rear exhaust-port. As promised, the ship more or less disintegrated. "Harper, Zelazny, get on repairs."

"Aye, sir." Zelazny nodded and followed Harper from the bridge.


	5. Damage Control

**Chapter 5 -- Damage Control**

"You know..." Zelazny grunted as she crawled over Harper to reach the damaged circuits. "I don't think that this conduit was built for two."

"Tell me about it..." Harper agreed, sliding out from under her and rolling on his back to get better access to the circuits. "So, what'd you do to that shriller?"

Zelazny glanced over her shoulder at him. "I think we should probably discuss damage-control instead."

"Why?" Harper asked. "In case you haven't noticed, we seem to work pretty well without talking about what we're doing."

"I wasn't talking about the ship."

"Oh..." Harper rolled over again so that they were lying in the conduit nose to nose. "Um... Well, Zelazny..."

"Let me start." She smiled gently at him. "I understand that this is hard on you, Harper, I do." She gently touched his cheek, grinning. "I mean, it's not every day that you discover that you've got a daughter who's older than you by a woman who you've never slept with."

Harper could not help but smile. "_That_ is an understatement."

Zelazny smiled reassuringly. "You don't have to fear this, Harper. Nothing is going to change because of what you know."

"_Everything_ has changed!" Harper protested

"_Nothing_ has changed." She smiled gently. "No one is going to expect you to be a father or... or a husband or anything like that. It happened, it's over. A lot has changed since then."

Harper stared at her. "How... how did it happen?"

"If you want an answer to that, you should really talk to my mom." Zelazny shrugged helplessly and handed Harper a scanner.

Harper shrugged and shook his head. "So, what does that make us?"

"Friends, I hope." Zelazny smiled at him as she turned her attention to the repairs. "I don't really _need_ a dad, Harper, but I could use another friend."

Harper grinned at her. "I'd like to get to know you better, Zelazny."

She smiled. "I'd like that, Harper."

"You know, if you want... you could call me dad..." Harper said shyly.

Zelazny smiled and blush faintly. "I'd like that... dad."

Harper winced. "You know, I think I preferred Harper."

"Yeah, me too." Zelazny nodded. "Let's get to work."

"You got it so, what'd you do to the shriller?"

"Well, I added a sonic modulator, and I made it longer and narrower, which subtly altered the pitch..."

***

Dylan was sitting on a couch in his ready room when the door chimed. "Come in..." he muttered.

Rommie walked in. "Sir."

"Yeah, Rommie? What's up?"

"Are you okay, sir?"

Dylan looked up at her, frowning. "Why do you ask, Rommie?"

"You've been in here for hours. Since we destroyed the Nietzschean ship."

Dylan sighed. "I know, Rommie. I just..."

"Resent the necessity?"

Dylan nodded. "Sit, Rommie." He patted the couch.

"Yes, sir." She sat down next to him.

"Rommie, don't... don't call me that right now."

"Sorry, Dylan." She looked at him, concerned. "You seem really upset."

He shrugged. "I don't know, Rommie. It goes against everything I believe in to destroy a defenseless enemy, you know?"

She nodded. "Yes, Dylan, but if we had not, they would have pursued us until one of us was destroyed. Zelazny _was_ right about that."

He nodded, sighing. "The universe was a much simpler place three hundred years ago, Rommie..."

She hesitantly put her hand on his shoulder. "I know, Dylan, but we're still working for all the same things."

Dylan glanced at her, surprised by the gesture, but grateful for it. He covered her hand with his own. "I know, Rommie... Thanks."

She smiled and nodded. After several minutes of silence, she asked, "Should I go, Dylan?"

Dylan shook his head. "I'd appreciate it if you would stay. I'm... not much up for talking right now, but... I could use the company."

Rommie smiled faintly. "Yes, Dylan."

He looked at her thoughtfully, then grinned. "Thank you, Rommie."

***

"Feeling better, Trance?" Beka asked as Trance walked past.

Trance nodded. "Still a little groggy, Beka, but a lot better."

"It's good to see you up and around again." Beka smiled. "Looking for someone?"

Trance regarded her thoughtfully, then nodded. "Harper."

"He's crawling through the innards of the ship with Zelazny. In case you slept through it, we got into a scuffle with some Nietzscheans."

Trance looked startled. "We drove them off? They might come back, we should..."

"Relax, Trance." Beka took Trance's arms in her hands and smiled reassuringly. "They _aren't_ coming back. We destroyed the ship."

"You destroyed it?" Trance asked, staring. "How?"

"Zelazny did it."

Trance let out a strangled laugh. "She did it?"

Beka nodded, frowning at her response. 

Trance shook her head in wonderment. Suddenly she pulled Beka into a bear hug. "That's wonderful!"

Beka stood in mute shock. "Um, yeah, I guess so."

"You know what this means?" Trance asked, releasing Beka.

Beka shook her head, frowning.

"She did what I couldn't. It's wonderful."

"Um... if you... say so, Trance." Beka took a judicious step backwards.

"Sorry, Beka." Trance smiled. "It's just that... the last time, we didn't destroy the ship."

"Oh..." Beka stared. It was the first time that Trance had talked about the future. "So, um, what happened?"

"The ship got pretty banged up." Trance shrugged. "It's good that it didn't happen again."

Beka nodded. "Yeah."

"Um, where's Harper? I need to talk to him."

"Maybe you should let him focus on the ship first, Trance..."

"This is important."

"So I've heard."

Trance looked up at her, startled. "He told you?"

Beka nodded. 

"Is he angry with me?"

She smiled and shook her head. "He's a little confused, like the rest of us, but he's not angry."

Trance smiled shyly. "That's good. I was worried..."

Beka nodded. "As long as you're feeling better, you've been elected to help me check to the damage to the slipstream core."

Trance smiled and nodded. "Okay, Beka." 

***

"Damn, girl, you make my job easier..." Harper laughed as they crawled out of the conduit. 

"Glad to be of service, Harper." Zelazny winked at him. "Look, you're an even bigger mess than I am. Go shower and I'll deliver our status-report to Dylan."

Harper nodded. "Zelazny, thanks."

She smiled and nodded. "Not a problem. Get clean then go talk to my mom."

He nodded and started for his quarters. Zelazny watched him go with a smile.

"So, I take it everything is... well with the two of you?" Tyr asked quietly, walking around the corner.

"What gives you that idea?"

"I could hear the two of you _singing_ from two decks away..." Tyr glowered at her.

Zelazny grinned. "I know, my voice is as annoying as a shriller."

"Very little is as annoying as one of your tin whistles."

"Yeah, whatever. Ears stop bleeding yet?" She started towards the bridge.

Tyr followed. "In the future, _warn_ me so that I might leave the room."

Zelazny shrugged. "Must have slipped my mind."

"I seriously doubt it." Tyr shook his head. 

"So, you won your fight with Beka? Win anything else?"

Tyr shook his head and ignored her. "Has your father spoken to your mother yet?"

"Everyone's been a little busy with damage control. He's come around, though."

"Good." Tyr nodded. "It's important for the members of a crew to get along."

"Isn't it, though?" She winked at him.

Tyr frowned. "What was that?"

"Humans call it winking."

"I _know_ what it is, woman." Tyr frowned at her. "_You_, little lady, are almost as annoying as your father."

"_Almost_ as annoying as Harper? Can't have that..." Zelazny frowned. "I'll just have to try harder." 

Tyr shook his head. "I take that back, Zelazny. You are not almost as annoying as your father, you are infinitely _more_ annoying."

"Why, thank you, Tyr!" Zelazny smiled at him. "That's the sweetest thing an Ubber's even said to me."

"Don't call me that..." Tyr grumbled as they walked onto the bridge. He looked around. "Andromeda. Where is Dylan?"

"In his ready room, Tyr."

"Where's Rommie?" he asked.

"In Dylan's ready room."

Tyr opened his mouth again, but Zelazny cut him off. "We're here to deliver our status reports. All hull-breaches have been repaired. Current maximum speed is 35 PSL, but between the nanobots and the maintenance droids, that'll be taken care of in a few hours."

"Oh, and slipstream is operational..." Beka added, walking onto the bridge.

"Good." Andromeda's hologram nodded. "Zelazny, how long until engines are at full power?"

"Two hours. Three tops."

"Can you be more specific?"

"Sure." Zelazny grinned. "Barring unforeseen complications and delays, we should be able to reach top speed in two hours, thirty-seven minutes, eight point three-six seconds. Bye!" Zelazny waved and skipped off of the bridge.

Beka stared after her. "_Strange_ woman."

Tyr nodded. "Takes after her parents." He looked at Andromeda. "Weapons and shielding are fully operational."

"Good." She nodded. "I was afraid that our damage would take far longer to repair."

Beka grinned. "Guess Zelazny knows a few tricks." She shrugged. "Well, I'm going to grab a shower."

Tyr looked at her. "I suppose that means that I have the bridge."

Beka shrugged and left. Tyr shook his head as he watched her go. He glanced at the hologram. "What are you looking at?" he demanded, scowling.

"Defensive..." she muttered, winking off.

Tyr grumbled something impolite and shook his head. "Am I required here?" he asked suddenly.

The hologram reappeared. "Not at present."

He nodded. "Then I will be in the med-bay, finding an analgesic."

"Do your ears still hurt?"

"The word 'hurt' does not begin to describe the way they feel..." Tyr growled, stalking off of the bridge.

She watched him go, frowning and shaking her head. The organics had been acting even more strangely than usual since Zelazny's arrival. Of course, it was not as if they had ever been _easy_ to understand. She returned her attention to directing the maintenance droids in the last of the repairs.

***

"You know, Rommie, sometimes I'm not really sure that I'm cut out for this..." Dylan muttered after more than an hour of total silence.

"I'm not sure I understand..."

He looked at her. "Restoring the Commonwealth. I mean, I believe in the Commonwealth more strongly than I've ever believed in anything, but I'm really..." He sighed. "I'm starting to wonder if that's really enough."

"More than a dozen systems seem to think so..." Rommie pointed out gently. She saw Dylan upset so seldom that she found herself troubled by it as well. She wanted him to feel better, which meant putting aside her own feelings. She reminded herself firmly that she was not even supposed to _have_ feelings and smiled reassuringly at Dylan. "You're doing a great thing, Dylan. You know that."

"Yeah, but is it enough? Twelve planets in over a year, with a Magog world-ship headed our way? Aren't you even a little worried?"

Rommie stared at him and shook her head confidently. "No."

"_No?_" Dylan demanded. "How can you not be worried?"

"I have faith in you." Rommie smiled confidently.

Dylan sighed. "No pressure, Hunt..."

Rommie leaned forward and took his hand shyly. "You asked."

Dylan smiled and nodded. "I guess I did, yeah."

"I'm not the only one, either, Dylan..." Rommie said softly. "Do you think that the others would still be here if they didn't have total faith in you and in what you're doing? And what about the signatories to the new charter?"

Dylan sighed again. "I hate it when you talk sense..."

Rommie smiled. "You may have started this crusade alone, but you aren't that way any more."

"Now, see, Rommie, that's where you're wrong." Dylan grinned at her and patted her shoulder. "I've _never_ been alone."

Rommie smiled and bowed her head. "Dylan..." she said softly. "If I thought you were doing the wrong thing, I would do my best to talk you out of it."

He smiled and nodded. "I know, Rommie. I... I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Then let's not think about it..." Rommie suggested quietly. "Let's just be happy for what we have."

"That sounds like a good plan to me." Dylan smiled and gently kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, Rommie."

"Always happy to help, sir..." Rommie muttered, not looking up. She rose. "I should see how the repairs are going."

He nodded. "Keep me informed."

"Aye, sir."

"I thought I told you not to do that."

Rommie grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Dylan." She quickly left.

"You shouldn't encourage her."

Dylan looked at the hologram and frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"She's become very emotional lately. You shouldn't encourage such behavior."

"Here's a though..." Dylan said with a slight frown. "Next time I'm sulking in my ready-room, pretend I'm in my quarters and _don't watch_. Okay?"

She sighed. "Yes, _sir_."

Dylan scowled at her for a moment before leaving.

***

"Head-achy?" Zelazny asked softly as Tyr rifled through the medicine cabinet.

"_Yes!_" 

Zelazny sighed. "Sit down." She turned her attention to the cabinet. "You know, I honestly thought that the ear-phones would afford more protection than that."

Tyr ignored her and sat down on one of the beds. "I just want to know if the damage is permanent."

"Here." Zelazny gave him a quick shot, then picked up a light. "I'll have a look, okay."

"I'd appreciate it."

She nodded and shone the light in one of his ears. "Well, there's no bleeding. Hang on." She picked up another instrument. "This is just going to blow a puff of air into your ear to see how the ear-drum reacts."

Tyr nodded and allowed her to repeat the procedure on both ears. "Well? Your verdict?"

"The ringing should go away in a few hours. By the time the analgesic wears off, the pain will also be gone."

"And my hearing?"

Zelazny gave him a second injection. "Your superior hearing will remain superior. There is no permanent damage."

"Good." Tyr nodded.

"Now lie down and let the analgesic work."

"I need to return to the bridge."

"I'll cover for you, Tyr. Just crash out for a few hours. Trust me, it'll help."

"I do not think I will ever understand you."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Merely an observation. Your actions seldom make sense."

"They do in context..." Zelazny assured him quietly, turning down the light and handing him a blanket. "Sweet dreams." Tyr grumbled at her as she left, but she ignored him. "Hello, Beka. Nice shower?" she asked when she ran into Beka in the corridor.

"How'd you know I was in the shower?"

"Well, you're cleaner than you were and you smell pretty." Zelazny shrugged.

"Oh." Beka nodded. "On your way to the bridge?"

"Yeah."

"I'll walk with you. I'm just going to drop in on Tyr and see if he needs to be relieved."

"If you want to see Tyr, you're walking in the wrong direction."

"What?" Beka stopped, frowning.

"I just left him in the med-bay. The ringing in his ears was getting pretty unbearable, so I had to give him something."

"Oh." Beka frowned.

"He's resting now, because I made him, but if you want to visit him you can. Heck, it's probably the only way to actually keep him in there."

Beka grinned and nodded. "Is he going to be okay? I mean, that shriller made _me_ hurt, and my hearing's nowhere near as good as his."

Zelazny grinned reassuringly. "He'll be fine. It'll just take him a few more hours to get there."

Beka nodded. "I think I'll just drop in on him, then."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

"Tyr?" Beka laughed.

"Yes, Tyr."

"Do you know something I don't?" Beka asked, smiling uncertainly.

"Maybe yes and maybe no. But I'm still enough of a little kid to want the six people on this ship to become three couples and live happily ever after."

"Zelazny, I somehow doubt that 'happily ever after' is in the cards for any of us."

"Happy for the time being, then." Zelazny smiled. "The universe is a miserable place, Beka, as I'm sure you've noticed. Happiness is in short supply. Carpe diem."

"Seize the day?" Beka asked, shaking her head. "Live for the moment?"

"Uh-huh." Zelazny nodded.

"You've been hanging out with Tyr for too long. Besides, I think everyone on this ship is perfectly happy with the way things are now."

"You could have something there." Zelazny nodded thoughtfully. "I'll be on the bridge."

Beka shook her head as she watched Zelazny walk off. "That kid has issues..." she muttered as she walked to the med-bay. "Hey, Tyr..." she whispered as she entered the darkened room.

"Hello, Captain Valentine..." he said, sitting up.

"Lie back down. I just came to check up on you."

"I see." Tyr shrugged and got on the bed again.

"How are you feeling?"

"Substantially better now. It seems that Zelazny gave me something slightly stronger than a standard analgesic."

"Ah." Beka nodded. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"Actually... I think that I would not much mind your company." He glanced up at her. "If you have nothing better to do, that is."

Beka shook her head and sat down. "I've got the rest of my day free."

"I see." Tyr nodded and smiled faintly.

"Get some sleep, Tyr…" Beka suggested softly.

Tyr nodded and closed his eyes.

"Sweet dreams."

"Always, Captain Valentine…" Tyr muttered as he drifted off. "Always…"


	6. Transitions

**Chapter 6 -- Transitions**

"Okay, so _why_ are we all meeting on the Obs deck?" Harper whispered to Trance.

"And what are those Perseids doing here?" Trance replied, frowning. They had been joined by the Perseid ship only a few hours ago, and a contingent had immediately come aboard to meet with Dylan. Trance looked at Beka and Tyr who were whispering together. "You know, Harper, I get the distinct impression that we're the only two here who _don't_ know what's going on."

"Yeah." Harper nodded. "The Perseids seem even twitchier than usual, and that's saying a lot."

Trance nodded. "Beka, what's going on?" she asked.

"You'll just have to wait until Dylan gets here." Beka smiled at them.

"Okay." Trance shrugged. "Where's Zelazny?"

"With Dylan."

"Why?"

Tyr grinned and chuckled. "You'll just have to wait until Dylan gets here..."

"Okay, now you're just teasing us!" Harper protested.

Tyr nodded and returned to his conversation with Beka, leading her away.

"Oh, man!" Harper groaned, shaking his head. "That's just unfair." He looked at Trance. "Hey, you're good with probabilities! What do you think is going on?"

"I'm not sure." Trance shrugged. "But I think that there's a good chance that we'll enjoy it very much."

"Well, that's something anyway." Harper sighed. "Oh, there they are..." he pointed as Dylan and Rommie walked onto the Obs deck with Zelazny on their heels. Rommie was carrying a small, flat box in her hands.

They walked to the front of the Obs deck and Dylan and Rommie stood side by side with their backs to the stars. Zelazny stood directly in front of Dylan at parade rest. Dylan smiled and muttered something to her before nodding to Rommie.

"Your attention, please!" Rommie called. When everyone was silent and had gathered around the three in a loose semi-circle, she nodded. "Dylan."

"Thank you, Rommie." Dylan nodded to her. He looked around the room and began in his best public-speaking voice, "We gather here today to observe an occasion which should be cause for both great solemnity and great rejoicing. Today, as in days past, we celebrate the formal Commissioning into the High Guard's Lancer Corps of this woman, in the presence of a representative sample of Commonwealth citizens and in the presence of her family."

"Whoa..." Harper muttered, looking at Trance. She had one hand on her chest and the other over her mouth.

Dylan smiled faintly in their direction. "Through study and service, this woman has proven herself more than worthy of the rank of Officer." He looked at Zelazny. "Do you accept the rank of Signifier in the Lancer Corps and the responsibilities that come with it?"

Zelazny nodded slowly. She looked so nervous that it was a wonder that she was still on her feet. "I do, sir."

"And do you accept these things freely and of your own will?"

"I do, sir."

Dylan nodded. "Then speak to it, as all those who come before you have and as all those who come after you shall."

She nodded and inhaled deeply before speaking. "I, Zelazny Gemini Harper, do most solemnly and on my honor affirm that I will, to the best of my ability, uphold and defend the New Systems Commonwealth Charter and those ideals for which it stands. To this end, I vow to obey the lawful commands of those officers appointed over me and the will of those bodies duly elected to govern the Commonwealth inasmuch as they represent the will of all citizens of the Commonwealth, and further to bear true faith and allegiance to those principles on which the Commonwealth is founded." 

Dylan nodded approvingly. "The Vedran Empress once said that galactic civilization can only progress when the many peoples of the stars act as one for the sake of all. It is the charge of all officers and enlisted personnel of the High Guard to uphold this ideal and to hold the line against the encroachment of the Great Darkness and the Long Loneliness that existed before the formation of this Commonwealth. Are you prepared to accept this charge?"

Zelazny nodded. "As all those who come before me have vowed, and as all those who come after me shall, I _will_ hold the line against the night, never faltering in the charge laid upon me for as long as I am privileged to draw breath."

Dylan nodded. "So it has been spoken, so shall it be. Rommie?"

Rommie opened the box she had been carrying and extended it to Dylan who carefully removed a small pin from it and attached it to Zelazny's collar.

As he did so, Rommie spoke in a clear, ringing voice. "This day, the Commonwealth gives thanks to have this woman on its side. Ever after, may this woman give thanks to have the Commonwealth on hers. We are, both parties, equally blessed by her inclusion into the High Guard."

Dylan smiled and shook Zelazny's hand. "Congratulations, Second Signifier Harper."

"Thank you, sir." Smiling, Zelazny pulled him into a bear-hug.

"Whoa..." Dylan gasped, trying to regain his balance. "I guess that means you're happy?"

She smiled and released him. "Sorry, sir. I'm just excited."

Dylan smiled and nodded. He looked up at everyone. "I believe that this is the part where we celebrate."

Rommie smiled and hugged Zelazny. "Congratulations, Signifier."

She grinned. "Thanks, Rommie. You take good care of everyone for me, okay? Especially Dylan. He's just too broody for his own good."

Rommie smiled and nodded. "I will. Go, speak to your parents."

She nodded and shook Rommie's hand before walking towards Trance and Harper. She was intercepted by Tyr and Beka.

"Congratulations!" Beka laughed, hugging her.

"I couldn't have done it without the things that the two of you taught me." She smiled and hugged Beka again before turning her attention to Tyr. "You know, Ubber, this means that you'll have to start calling me ma'am."

"I think not..." Tyr growled, catching her in a bear-hug.

"Thanks for everything, Tyr, especially all the great fights over the years and the accompanying wisdom."

Tyr nodded and released her. "Your parents still seem rather dazed. You might now wish to explain everything to them."

She nodded. "Good idea. Thank you both for everything. If you're ever on Mobius, drop in on me."

Beka nodded. "You bet."

Zelazny smiled and hugged them both again before joining Harper and Trance, who did indeed still look fairly dazed. "Hi."

"Whoa..." Harper repeated softly.

Zelazny grinned. "We wanted it to be a surprise."

"It _was_!" Harper laughed, hugging her. 

"We're both very proud of you, baby..." Trance told her, smiling.

"I'm glad. I'll... be leaving with the Perseids in a few hours."

Trance nodded. It was not unexpected.

"Where... where will you be going?" Harper asked quietly.

"Mobius. To the new Military Academy. I'll be... showing them what I know for a while. After that, I'm not sure where I'll be stationed. Maybe right here?"

Harper grinned. "That would be great."

She smiled at him. "Hopefully by then I'll be more than an O-1."

"Why the Lancers and not the Argosy?" Trance asked.

Zelazny shrugged. "Unlike you guys, space is not my first love. I'd be just as happy planet-side. Besides, the Lancers need me more." She smiled at Trance and took her hands. "You know, mom, I never used to believe in your 'perfect possible future', but I think that, just maybe, the seven of us together might bring it about."

Trance smiled at her. "I knew you'd come around some day, baby."

She nodded. "Maybe... maybe it's not so much a matter of everything being right as it is a matter of _some_ things being right. The important things."

Trance smiled and nodded. "Now you see."

Zelazny smiled and nodded. "Hey, I'm going to steal my dad for a few minutes, but I'll talk to you again before I go."

Trance smiled. "I'll hold you to that."

"You'd better..." Zelazny took Harper by the arm and led him from the Obs deck. "So... I don't really know anyone on Mobius, and I was thinking... it _could_ be easier to settle in if I had a pen-pal."

Harper smiled. "I'd like that, Zelazny."

"So, I guess I'll write to you as soon as I have an address." She smiled. "Will you visit me sometimes?"

"Every chance I get."

"Well, not _every_ chance. You need _some_ time to chase after girls..."

Harper blushed. "I haven't been doing that very much lately..."

"I'm teasing. I'm just a big meanie..." Zelazny grinned. She reached behind her back and pulled her shriller out of her waist-band. "I want you to have this."

"Gee, thanks." Harper grinned and accepted the whistle. "I don't have anything to give you..."

Zelazny kissed him on the forehead. "You gave me something a lot more important than a tin whistle." She grinned. "Just... don't blow it when Tyr's in the room. I'd like my new pen-pal to live long enough to get my first letter..."

Harper laughed and solemnly promised not to blow the shriller while Tyr was around.

Rommie walked up. "There you are, Zelazny..." She paused. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt..."

"It's okay, Rommie. We were just saying our till we meet agains." Zelazny smiled. "Did you find a uniform that'll fit me?"

She nodded. "I'll be waiting in your quarters when you're ready to try it on."

***

"How do I look?" Zelazny asked Rommie.

"A little... heavily armed." Rommie frowned. "Those boot-knives are not regulation. Neither is the one down your shirt..."

"Neither am _I_." Zelazny smiled at her. "Besides, it's not like the naked human eye can see them. Other than that?"

"You look wonderful. Your parents have every reason to be proud. They all do." Rommie smiled. 

"Thank you, Rommie. You take good care of them for me, okay? Especially Dylan."

"You said that once before."

"Did I?" she asked. "Then I must have meant it."

"Why? Why Dylan in particular?" 

"He bears a heavy burden, Rommie. It's not easy for him, and it's harder because he sees himself as largely alone in the universe."

"But he isn't..."

"I know that, same as you do. The trick is getting him to see it."

"I'll do my best. Are you ready to go?"

Zelazny nodded. "I'm nervous..." she admitted. "But happy and... excited."

Rommie smiled. "I would be, too."

"You know, you're pretty cool for an AI."

"Thank you." Rommie smiled, pleased. "You're pretty cool for... whatever you are."

Zelazny laughed as they started for the docking-bay. Trance met them halfway. "Rommie, can we have five seconds?" she asked.

"Of course." Rommie nodded and stepped away.

"I'm so proud of you, baby..." Trance muttered, taking her hands.

"Thanks, mom. I'm proud of you, too. You've done a lot of good and you _will_ do a lot more."

Trance smiled. "You're a good girl, Zelazny."

"One favor, though, okay?"

Trance nodded. "Anything I can do."

"Tyr and Beka. I notice things are moving more slowly this time around..."

Trance nodded. "They don't have the shared pain to bring them together like they did."

Zelazny nodded. "Yeah, but... thing is, Beka once confided to me, made me swear never to tell anyone, that after the Andromeda was destroyed, Tyr was the only thing that kept her from going back on Flash."

Trance frowned. "She never told me that. She's very strong, though, Zelazny."

"I know that. But even the strongest among us sometimes need help. You of all people should know that, mom."

Trance nodded. "You're right about that. I'll do what I can."

"Until we meet again, then." Zelazny smiled at her. "I love you, mom."

"I love you, too, baby." Trance hugged her and walked her to where Rommie was waiting. "I'll run ahead and tell them that you're coming. Wait until they see you in that uniform."

Rommie smiled. "Ready, Zelazny?"

She nodded and walked with Rommie to the docking bay. Dylan insisted on taking dozens of pictures of all of them, and Zelazny did not protest too strongly. It would be nice to have a souvenir of these people who had, for so long, been her family. After one more round of hugs and good-byes, she followed the Perseids onto their ship, feeling more at peace than she had in many years.

***

Harper looked up at the tapping on his door. "Yeah?"

"Harper, it's Trance."

"Come in." 

She walked in, looking curiously at the shriller he was holding. "That's Zelazny's, isn't it?"

"She gave it to me. To remember her by." Harper grinned. "Like I'm liable to forget her after the bombshell she dropped on me."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about..." Trance began quietly.

Harper nodded slowly. He was both eager and reluctant to know the whole story. "Trance, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, too... Your choice, you know?"

She nodded and sat down next to him. "I think it's important that you understand. You seem so confused by everything."

"I _am_."

She smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "Then I should tell you. It's important to me that you know, if only for her sake."

Harper nodded. "Okay, shoot."

Trance nodded and closed her eyes. "It's still so hard to think about, but... then I remember that Zelazny was the result." She smiled at him. "You were always so good to me. We were very best friends."

He nodded, smiling slightly. "I remember. We... still are, aren't we?"

"If you still want to be, I would be honored."

"Of course I want to be your friend, Trance. I would want to be your friend no matter what."

She smiled and nodded. "I can show you, instead of just telling you, if you want."

"You can do that?"

She nodded. "Just close your eyes and give me your hands."

A little nervous, but trusting Trance completely, Harper slid his hands into hers.

~~~

Harper had fled to his room some hours earlier. He was not sure what was worse, the spreading pain in his gut or the sympathetic looks from the rest of the crew. Probably the looks from the crew, he decided. Trance looked worse than he felt, blaming herself for her inability to find a cure. He looked up at the knock on his door, wondering whether it would be Tyr or Dylan. He could think of no other reason for anyone else to visit his quarters than 'to keep the eggs from hatching' as they had all come to refer to killing him. Even Rommie had stopped trying to comfort him.

"Come in..." he muttered dully, wondering if it was normal to not feel scared. Maybe he was just too weak to feel any more. "Trance?" he asked, surprised, as she walked in.

She nodded slowly and closed the door. She hovered there, looking uncomfortable and, as always these days, sad. 

"Come in, Trance." He looked up at her with a sigh. "What's in your hand?"

"A syringe..."

"Oh..." Harper stared at her with wide eyes. "I thought Tyr or... or Dylan..."

"Dylan's pacing around Command looking miserable and Tyr's... well, he's pacing around the Obs deck looking miserable. They can't do it, Harper..."

"So..." He swallowed hard. "You're going to?"

She nodded miserably. "Please don't be angry with me, Harper..." she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

Harper rose and wrapped his arms around her. "Please, don't cry, Trance. It's going to be okay."

She sniffled and shook her head. "_No, it's not!_" she wailed, sobbing.

Harper led her to the bed and sat her down, hugging her tightly. "Trance, please don't be sad. I'll give myself the shot, okay?"

She shook her head. "I promised to take care of you, Harper... This just is not what I had in mind."

Harper smiled sadly at her. "Don't cry, Trance. It's going to be okay."

"Why does it hurt so bad inside?" Trance whispered, burying her face in his neck.

"You've never lost anyone before, have you?" Harper asked gently.

She shook her head, not looking up at him.

"Oh, you poor baby." Harper gently rocked her. "Don't worry. It... it gets easier. Time makes it easier. You'll... get over it."

"I'll never get over you..." she whispered, looking up at him. "I'll never forget you and I'll never forgive myself for not helping you."

"You're helping me now, Trance, by keeping these eggs from hatching." He smiled reassuringly. "It's going to be okay, Trance, I promise you..." He kissed the hand that was not holding the syringe. "I just want it to stop hurting, Trance..."

She nodded, still crying. "I wanted something that wouldn't hurt, but we really didn't have anything like that, so I mixed some other things together. It'll take a few hours to work, but it won't hurt..."

He smiled gently. "I knew I could trust you. Hell, Tyr probably would have enjoyed himself anyway..."

"Harper, you know that's not true!"

"I know. So, it'll take a few hours?"

She nodded. "In about two hours, you'll start feeling drowsy, and then you'll fall asleep a little more than an hour after that. Your... um, you'll go pretty quickly after you fall asleep. Are you ready?"

Harper nodded. "Want a drink? While we... wait?"

Trance swallowed hard and nodded. "I think I could kind of use one, yeah."

Harper reached under his bed and pulled out a bottle. "Picked this up on Loran Drift. It's supposed to be good stuff."

"I hope so..." Trance muttered, priming the syringe. "Harper, I..."

"Shh... Trance, you don't have to say anything."

"I care about you very much, Harper. I'll feel so lonely without you."

"Give me the shot, Trance. We'll have plenty of time to talk after that."

"All the time in the world wouldn't be enough, Harper." Trance leaned forward and gently kissed him. "I am going to miss you so much."

"Me, too, Trance. But, you know... some species believe in an afterlife. And that's... hopeful."

Trance, whose species did _not_, as a rule, subscribe to a belief in the afterlife, nodded and smiled at Harper. "You could... keep an eye on all of us..." she whispered.

"Sure could." Harper unbuttoned his sleeve and rolled it up, extending his arm to Trance. "You especially. I'll keep an eye on you until you join me, gorgeous."

"I'd... I'd like that, Harper..." 

Trance looked from the syringe to Harper's arm. She was crying again, but she injected him anyway. There was no use in pretending that it was not absolutely necessary. She was doing him a favor and they both knew it, but the knowledge only made her cry harder. The syringe slid from her hand and hit the floor with an audible _click_. Trance buried her face in her hands and sobbed, her entire body shaking.

"Trance, Trance..." Harper muttered, pulling her into his arms. "Don't be sad, baby. Please. I... I want to die seeing your smile."

Trance looked up at him sadly. "I don't think I'll ever smile again..."

"Sure you will..." Harper promised, kissing her gently. "Don't be sad. I'm not."

"Give me the bottle..." Trance muttered.

"You know what, I don't think so." Harper placed the bottle on the ground and rolled it away with his foot. "I want you to tell me a story, okay?"

"I don't know any..."

"Make one up."

Trance looked up at him uncertainly. "Once upon a time... there was a princess."

Harper leaned against the wall and pulled Trance against him. "Was she purple?"

"Yeah, she was..." Trance muttered as Harper wrapped his arms around her. "And her people were so... different that no one ever really trusted her very much, until she meant a very special person..." Trance trailed off and rested her head against his shoulder. She looked up into his eyes and was surprised to see him smiling. "What..." she whispered.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, Trance. Thank you." Harper leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled away, she was crying again. "Please, don't, Trance. You don't have to be sad for me any more, Trance, because it doesn't hurt and I'm not scared."

"But I am..." Trance whispered. "And you may not hurt, but I do..."

Harper tightened his grip on her. "No one who hurts should ever have to be alone, Trance, and you never will be. You have Dylan and Beka and Tyr and Rommie to take care of you." 

"But all I really want is _you_." She sniffled. "I love you, Harper..."

"Really?" Harper smiled. "Me too, Trance. I love you, baby. Now, how do I make it stop hurting?"

"Just hold me, okay?" Trance whispered.

Harper nodded and held Trance close, rocking her and humming gently. He kissed her again, and she kissed him, and things progressed from there, and in that instant, all the evils in the universe seemed insignificant in comparison to the fact that they had each other. And afterwards, when Harper began to yawn, Trance held him in her arms instead of him holding her in his, and she rocked him and hummed to him, and he looked content and not at all afraid.

He yawned again and smiled up at Trance, caressing her face and bare shoulders. "I love you, Trance..." he yawned. "And I want to thank you."

She shook her head. "I should thank you. You... really comforted me."

He smiled at her and refrained from making a tasteless joke. "Just returning the favor, Trance." He yawned again. "Thank you, Trance. For this and for everything." He smiled up at her and his eyes drifted shut.

Trance lay there, holding him and sobbing, until Rommie and Beka forcibly removed the body from her arms. As Rommie removed it from the room for burial, Beka helped the distraught girl dress and held her until her sobs subsided. 

~~~

They pulled their hands apart and stared at each other in silence for several minutes. Harper's eyes were as moist as Trance's.

"A week later, I realized that I was pregnant, and that you were right. I'd never really be alone..." Trance concluded quietly. "She has all your memories, so it was kind of like having you there again. It wasn't the same, but it was something. Something that I _had_ to do when all I really _wanted_ to do was curl up and die."

"It sounds like it was a beautiful thing..." Harper muttered.

"It was." Trance smiled sadly at him. "It was the best I'd felt in months and the best I thought I would ever feel again until I came back here and saw you again."

"Wow..." Harper muttered, wrapping his arms around her and rocking her.

She smiled at him. "You were so brave. And then you actually _thanked_ me."

"Of course I did, Trance." Harper smiled at her and rose, extending his hand. "Let's go for a walk."

"Okay..." Trance nodded and climbed shakily to her feet, feeling drained from the shared memory.

Harper helped her up and they left his quarters together. As they walked, he shyly slid an arm around her shoulder. Instead of objecting, she leaned into him.

Harper smiled. "So, Trance, tell me about our daughter..."

**The End**


End file.
